Conference Committee
By Karen Hauser, Spring 2008 Conference Chair

TASFAA is celebrating 40 years of service! The TASFAA Conference Committee is working hard to bring you an up-to-date and informative training opportunity. Join us March 30 - April 2 in Memphis, TN at the Hilton. The registration fee is $125 for TASFAA members. Click on the Conference link at the TASFAA website to complete the registration process.

The first TASFAA meeting was held in Nashville in 1967. Membership dues were $2 and 51 members attended. The 2007 Fall Conference had over 300 attendees. What a difference 40 years makes in planning challenges as well as budget challenges. Did you know that the meals are the highest expense of a conference? In 1967, the meal expenditure for the first conference was $367. That was 70% of the total cost of that first conference. The meals at the 2007 Fall Conference were more than $41,000. The meals are about 88% of the conference expenditures today. When you make your conference reservation, you will need to RSVP meals. Please do so knowing that TASFAA pays for each meal you reserve even if you do not eat!

Plan ahead to enjoy an Evening on Your Own while attending the conference. Monday night you can enjoy an evening of shopping, dinner and music on Beale Street or get a group of your colleagues together and head to Tunica with your roll of quarters for some high rollin’ times at The Grand Casino. The Grand is sending a free shuttle to pick you up!

Looking back over the past 40 years of TASFAA history, the recurring theme is one of change. That certainly is the nature of our profession, and the Conference Committee hopes the 2008 Spring conference provides you opportunities to get many of your questions answered and receive up-to-date training and information.

Hope to see you there!